Before the game, Seidenberg described Ovechkin as a "tank," andthe Bruins defensemen felt the full force of that tank in thesecond period. Seidenberg initiated a big hit in the neutral zone,but Boston's blueliner took the worst of the check as he hit thedeck and his head snapped back in whiplash fashion.

Ovechkin had just one shot on net Thursday night.

Welcome back

Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk returned to action for thefirst time since he was knocked out of the lineup by a sprainedknee April 3 against Pittsburgh.

The defenseman started skating earlier in the week and was backon a pair with Andrew Ference against the Capitals Thursday night.Boychuk and Ference matched up mostly against the Capitals' secondline of Nicklas Backstrom centering Jason Chimera and AlexanderSemin. Boychuk logged 17:58 of ice time on Thursday.

Rask a no-go

Anton Khudobin dressed as Tim Thomas' backup for Game Onebecause Tuukka Rask remained on the road to recovery but wasn'tready to suit up. Rask has been out since suffering an injuredabdomen/groin March 3 against the New York Islanders.

Rask said that he has full range of motion now that he's morethan a month into his recovery. He just doesn't want to rush backand risk reinjuring the area.

"Yeah, every day is closer and closer. But it's just day to dayand I don't want to have any setbacks," Rask said. "So I'm notpushing it too hard. ... As long as I'm pain-free, I'm good to go.And that's what I'm working on right now."

Defenseman Adam McQuaid did not skate and he remained sidelinedwith an upper-body injury. He hasn't played since April 5, inOttawa.

"I feel very confident. Everyone that we have here is verycapable of playing, we've got one guy that's going to be out forsure [Thursday] in McQuaid, but the other seven you can put anyoneof them in there," coach Claude Julien said before the game."They've all done a great job, so if anything I feel extremelyconfident. I think [general manager] Peter [Chiarelli] did a greatjob of solidifying that position for us."

Joe Corvo skated on the third pair in McQuaid's absence.

Wideman reflects

The Bruins traded Dennis Wideman to Florida in June 2010 in adeal that landed Nathan Horton in Boston. Wideman was shipped toWashington last season and this year he flourished during anAll-Star season that featured 11 goals and 46 points from theoffensive defenseman.

Wideman doesn't hold a grudge against the Bruins for tradinghim.

"My circumstances of getting traded [from] here, they had lotsof D and they needed a scorer, a forward," Wideman said. "I was theguy that went the other way. And that's the way I look at it. Theylost [Phil] Kessel to Toronto there, so they needed a top-endscorer and Horton was a guy they were going after and they had aguy that they could get rid of who was on defense. I mean, it'sjust a business. That's the way it works. I don't sit there and say'I can't believe me' sort of thing. That's not how it is."

Wideman says he doesn't even hold a grudge against the Bostonfans that soured on his game and let him know it late in 2009-10season.

"Obviously I didn't start off the year as well as I wanted to.The first half was a struggle, I wasn't playing well, I was gettingfrustrated," said Wideman, who led Boston in postseason scoringthat year. "They're knowledgeable hockey fans. I assume they're notgoing to be happy with the way I was playing. But they're justbeing Boston fans. They don't put up with that; that's the way itis."